The winter of 2004
and 2005 is still the year of the Owls in Minnesota,
and now fro Wisconsin, as well. The Minnesota Ornithologists' Union
(MOU) and Audubon Minnesota are working with agency and University
biologists to collect data on these Owls. Records of sightings in
MN
should be emailed to the MOU at mou@cbs.umn.edu.

Peder Svingen, MOU
Records Committee Chair, has tallied reports thus far
of 1715 Great Gray owls (GGOW's), more than 300 Northern Hawk Owls
(NHOW's), and more than 400 Boreal Owls (BOOW's) in MN as of 1/17/05.
This compares to last year's more typical numbers of 35 GGOW's, 6
NHOW's, and 1 BOOW's for MN and each represents the highest number
ever
documented in the state in a single winter season. These numbers have
been adjusted to account for multiple sightings and are backed up
with
an Owl census coordinated by Dave Grossheusch and Jim Lind. Kim Eckert,
Mike Hendrickson, and Peder Svingen also helped plan and implement
this
census, which will be repeated at monthly intervals through March.
The
first survey in early December tallied 167 Owls along randomly selected
routes in northern Minnesota, plus an additional 88 owls along
non-randomly selected routes.

Dave Evans and others
at Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, plus Jim Lind, Dave
Grosshuesch, Frank Nicoletti, Denny Meyer and Bill Lane have banded
Owls
intensively this fall.. Without banding, we would certainly have missed
the early Boreal Owl movements this year. 378 BOOW's have been banded
this winter, 268 of these by Frank Nicoletti alone.

The MN DNR processes
dead owls found and reports their freezers are
filling up. 171 GGOW's, 25 BOOW's, and 2 NOHW's are logged in already,
with more on the way. In the past 2 weeks, BOOW's have been regularly
found roosting or feeding in the open along the North Shore of Lake
Superior. Normally nocturnal, any Boreal Owl seen in these circumstances
is food-stressed. Snow depth and conditions are now affecting prey
availability. These factors combined with winds and bitter temperatures
are exacerbating the Owls' slide towards starvation. Freezing rain
coated northeastern Minnesota with ice just before New Year's Eve.
Extreme arctic cold since 1/14/05 coincided with half the dead BOOW's
picked up this year. According to Steve Wilson, MN DNR Ecologist,
this
follows the precedent of 1989, when a similar arctic blast killed
off
many BOOW's.

GGOW's are not surviving
very well. Their penchant for sailing in front
of passing vehicles adds to their mortality rates caused by other
stresses. They are being seen near open farmed areas and in mixed
deciduous and conifer forests. The habitat their target prey frequents
is grassy open areas that are not too dry in summer. Roadside ditches,
meadows, and forest edge habitats are prime vole habitat. Ditches
are
now packed with hard snow, forcing the owls in more from the roads.
They
are frequently being seen near farm buildings. NHOW's are still sticking
to open, barren field edge environments, and are being seen close
to
where they were being seen a month ago. NHOW numbers may have
stabilized; it will be interesting to see how far their dispersal
takes
them.

David Willard, of
the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History, collected
GGOW specimens from the invasion year in 1995-1996. Of the 43 GGOW's
he
studied, 30 were female and were more apt to be in good physical shape
(i.e., carrying fat ) while the 13 males were emaciated. Dave and
his
colleagues theorize that the reason there were more females was that
they had territories along roads where people driving by were likely
to
find them (dead) and where the birds could still find prey, while
the
males were away from roads with less accessible prey, and less likely
to
be found when they died. They do not know if this is true--just that
it
fit the data. Supporting the possibility of the sexes using different
habitats was the fact that while both were feeding primarily on
Microtus, the only Southern Bog Lemmings and Arctic Shrews were in
male
stomachs (despite a much smaller sample size for males). Dave is hoping
to augment these samples this year and to see if there are similar
patterns. Many GGOW specimens will be going his way. If you want to
check out specimen information on the owls from the 1995-96 invasion
you
can find it at their database at
http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/collections/search.cgi?dest=birds.

The Minnesota Ornithologists'
Union (MOU) is still looking for data on
these owls. It is important that as much data is collected as is
possible.
A good record includes:
1. A correctly identified species
2. Date of observation
3. A specific location
4. Observers' names and contact information

These great birds
have now dispersed throughout the northern half of the
state of MN, common as far south as central Pine and Aitkin Counties.
GGOW seen in the south are in good condition, confirmed by banders.
Southernmost birds are most active at dawn and after 3:30 PM, actively
hunting from prominent perches. GGOW's resident now in the far north
are
frequently found in poor condition, with fat reserves depleted and
body
weights very low.

Dead Owls should
be reported to the local DNR office. Sax-Zim and the
north shore of Superior, where large numbers of Owls were first
discovered, have far fewer Owls than two weeks ago. Dispersal to the
west appears to be limited, perhaps due to the more open prairie and
farmlands, but there have been sightings as far west as Kittson,
Marshall, Pennington, Polk, and Mahnomen counties within since 1/10/05.
A GGOW strayed as far west as Grand Forks in late December, the first
confirmed record for North Dakota since the 1960's. Another was found
in
Southern Iowa this week, only the fifth record for that state. In
Minnesota, only a few GGOW's are being seen farther south than central
Pine County as of 1/15, yet as many as a 100 are being seen in
Wisconsin, so a general southward and eastward dispersal is continuing.

FAQ's:

Why are they
here?

Depletion of primary
food supply has caused a mass southward movement;
Lake Winnipeg forms a Western barrier to Owls from the north, funneling
birds to the east of it. Boreal forest in Manitoba gives way to Prairie,
so Owls would follow continuous forest SE to progress southward. Lake
of
the Woods is the next barricade to western dispersal. Owls would then
move south to meet Lake Superior, turning SW towards the Superior
National Forest and the North Shore of Superior, which we witnessed.

Where will
they go?

We can confirm GGOW's
have dispersed South in the past 2 weeks in large
numbers to Pine and Aitkin Counties in MN and to the Southeast to
Douglas and Burnett Counties in WI. A single GGOW is being reported
in
Iowa. NHOW and BOOW remain rare and hard to find south of Duluth.
A
continuation of dispersal trends may move birds deeper into Wisconsin
and into Chisago, Anoka, Isanti, Sherburne and Washington Counties
in
Minnesota, continuing southward and eastward. Birds moving into
Wisconsin may be following the continuation of boreal forest east
to
Crex Meadows and on. A reverse movement north and east along Lake
Superior has been noted since 1/14/05. It is not known if this
represents a return path to their breeding grounds o merely birds
dispersing elsewhere after finding no prey to the south.

How many will
survive?

We are not certain.
Mortality rates are higher in Northern MN thus far..
The DNR has to get dead owls reported to them so they may determine
cause of death. Birders need to disperse their activities now to report
where the birds are and in what densities they are found, both in
MN and
in WI. Sadly, birders should look for dead owls to report to the DNR,
look for their wingtips or tails sticking out of the snow. Every
sighting and report is important now; each bird may become the one
that
stays to attempt breeding. It is a huge area to cover; we need everyone
out looking for owls in promising habitat. Please remain vigilant
and
help us monitor the saga as it plays out.
What can I do to help these birds?

You that have enjoyed
these birds this year should consider giving of
your time or money to some of the groups that are coordinating efforts
to support these birds.

* The MOU is providing services
documenting sightings,
natural histories and behaviors of these birds. We will be publishing
data, observations, and research from this irruption year. A special
publication with photos, maps and all the data compiled is planned.
http://www.cbs.umn.edu/~mou/

* The MN DNR uses funds from
licenses and the "chickadee
check-off" to support conservation programs and wildlife and
forestry
services that impact this area. Carroll Henderson, Head of the DNR
Wildlife Division comments "The State is in the process of updating
its
list of threatened and endangered species, and it would be appropriate
to review the status of these three owls to make sure that they are
given appropriate consideration for listing. The boreal owl's status
should be looked at very closely." Please donate and support
them.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/index.html

* Minnesota Audubon is working
on Sax-Zim as an IBA (Important
Bird Area), and will help coordinate development of habitat management
and conservation practices with State and local organizations to ensure
alignment and outcomes that are good for the Owls. The MOU and Audubon
are also collecting information on birders. Birding as an economic
benefit to rural areas can best be documented by tracking where birders
are coming from and how much they are spending. To accomplish that
we
are asking our birding visitors to let us know when they are in the
state and how much they spend, and on what (motel, gas, food, etc).
Information can be sent to
mmartell@audubon.org.http://www.audubon.org/chapter/mn/mn/programs.html

* The Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve
in Duluth sponsors banding and
research; it was their contract bander, Frank Nicoletti, that showed
us
how many BOOW's were on the move in late fall 2004.
http://www.hawkridge.org/

* Bill Lane is a bander and
Owl researcher in Tofte, MN that
specializes in Boreal Owls. You can volunteer to help him build or
hang
boxes or sponsor him in his efforts to locate breeding BOOW's and
map
their abundance. He uses no calls to attract birds; he only listens
for
actively singing birds. Last year, he heard only three BOOW's in an
entire spring season. It is the hard way to do it, but it puts less
stress on the birds. http://www.mindspring.com/~owlman/

* The Raptor Center has handled
many injured Owls this season - 43
total:
GGOW - 39 admitted; 14 survived; 3 released; 25 died
NHOW - 2 admitted; 1 survived; 0 released; 1 died
BOOW - 2 admitted; 1 survived; 0 released; 1 died
These birds had all suffered collisions with cars and blunt trauma
injuries with the exception of the Boreal that died, cause of death
was
starvation. All other Owls were deemed to be in good physical condition
prior to their injuries. http://www.theraptorcentor.org

Supporting any of these groups
by making a donation will ensure your
money is put to good use. Joining up as a member can put your time
to
good use. We all share memberships, partnerships and interests. You
should earmark donations for specific use towards Owl conservation
and
research or it may get applied to other worthy programs. All of our
efforts are funded by donations and memberships.
Birders and residents have been remarkable stewards this season in
Minnesota, consistently favoring decisions that favor the Owls. The
outcome of this irruption year may be tough to witness and document,
but
we will see it through. I look forward to hearing Owls on territory
in a
couple of months, the booming hoots of a Great Gray or the hollow
toots
of the Boreal mixed in with the steady calling of Saw-Whets.
Good Birding, go find some Owls for us, please.